Rental Agreement for Mobile Endoscopy Unit at Letterkenny Hospital

The objective of this Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency (VEAT) Notice is to inform the market of the HSE’s intention to enter into a new interim rental agreement for the provision of a Mobile Endoscopy Unit at Letterkenny University Hospital with EMS Healthcare, The Refinery, South Road, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 4LE. The demand for Endoscopy services at Letterkenny University Hospital has not only remained high, but has increased significantly over the last 3 years. The level of demand means that the Endoscopy Unit is in operation on Saturday’s and Sunday’s on a regular basis as well as its core operating hours from Monday to Friday and it is imperative that this service continues on site without disruption. Following the conclusion of a previous arrangement in 2021, Letterkenny University Hospital secured agreement for the rental of a Mobile Endoscopy Unit with EMS Healthcare and this service has continued until the present date. The long term strategy for Endoscopy Services at Letterkenny University Hospital will involve either a standalone or regional/national procurement process for a rental agreement for these services during the time frame covered by the this agreement or a capital development to enhance static endoscopy capacity on site within the earliest possible timescale. This proposal incorporates an interim rental agreement of up to 36 months and will include an option to extend further if required in order to maintain this critical service for patients of Letterkenny University Hospital. The HSE intends to enter into an agreement with EMS Healthcare for these services under the provisions of Article 32 2(c) (ii) of Directive 2014/24/EU which justifies the use of a negotiated procedure without prior publication “where the works, supplies or services can only be provided by a particular economic operator for the reason that competition is absent for technical reasons”. The technical reasons justifying the use of this procedure include: • Any change in supplier would result in significant downtime to account for the removal of the existing unit and replacement with an alternative unit. • Staff are trained and are familiar with the operation of the current equipment and unit. • There is significant clinical risk for extremely vulnerable patients attached to delayed diagnosis of cancers should endoscopic investigations not be carried out in a timely manner. • The cost of the enabling works associated with installing an alternative unit would be significant including extension of the concrete base for the unit, linking into utilities and construction of a corridor to link the unit with the main hospital. This is an interim arrangement to secure the continuation of critical patient services pending a decision on the longer term strategy for Endoscopy Services at Letterkenny University Hospital. The HSE will allow a standstill period until 12 noon on Friday 10th January 2025 for responses to the publication of this VEAT notice from the marketplace.